UnionPay mobile payment transaction volume grows as Chinese tourists celebrating the Spring Festival all around the world

SHANGHAI, Feb. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Today is the fifth day of the Chinese Spring Festival holiday, and the Chinese New Year has become a global tourism peak season with more and more Chinese tourists celebrating the festival abroad. According to the data from China Tourism Academy, as many as 6.5 million Chinese people travel abroad this Spring Festival, and global merchants are endeavoring to improve the experience of Chinese tourists. More than 23 million merchants outside the Chinese Mainland accept UnionPay, which is the preferred bankcard of Chinese tourists, and the cross-border transactions volume of the UnionPay mobile payment has grown substantially during this Spring Festival.

Mobile payment is gaining popularity.

Since the launch of the “UnionPay” app, UnionPay International has been expanding the acceptance scope of the app outside mainland China. In 2017, the transaction number and volume of UnionPay mobile QuickPass and UnionPay QR Code outside mainland China grew by dozens of times.

Just prior to this Spring Festival, a number of merchants in Nepal, Kenya, Djibouti, Vietnam and Taiwan started to accept UnionPay QR Code, which was previously accepted in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau. These merchants include shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, with many Chinese people travel abroad, the transaction volume of UnionPay mobile QuickPass outside mainland China is growing. Now, UnionPay cardholders are able to pay with UnionPay mobile QuickPass at about 1 million POS terminals in 18 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and Russia.

Global merchants welcome Chinese tourists by accepting UnionPay.

With more and more merchants accepting UnionPay cards, the travel experience of Chinese tourists is getting better and better. The latest data show that customers are able to pay with UnionPay in 168 countries and regions, covering more than 23 million merchants and 1.64 million ATMs. During this Spring Festival, famous restaurants, hotels, stores, entertainment establishments in 22 popular travel destinations are offering exclusive discounts up to 30% off for UnionPay cardholders.

Cultural-experiencing tours and self-driving tours are gaining popularity among Chinese tourists. To serve Chinese tourists, more than 10 museums are providing exclusive offers for UnionPay. And since February 10, the transaction volume of UnionPay cards at car rental merchants in the United States, Thailand, Australia has been growing remarkably.